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Can Dogs Watch TV?

What are they really seeing when they binge-watch with you?

When your dog is cuddled up next to you on the couch, watching TV right along with you, what is she actually seeing? Well, scientists say they aren't exactly seeing what we’re seeing.
For one, some dogs don't even care, because they aren't sight-oriented... like hounds and other hunting breeds. They’re scent-oriented, so they aren’t as transfixed by the flickering images on screen. But herding dogs, and breeds like shepherds, tend to be more aware of, and interested in TV. Dogs can also only see shades of yellow and blue - and the images may be blurry to them.
Dogs are also reactive to sound - so ringing doorbells, dog barks and other strange noises from the TV may make them perk up. But because a dog’s eyes see images at a faster rate than a human’s - what seems like a smooth moving image to us, looks like a flip-book to them... or what we’d see with a strobe light.
If you have a brand new TV, you may be seeing up to 70 images per second - that’s more along the lines of what a dog can see, a smooth moving image, and that can make it easier for your dog to watch TV.